Right, I know this is going to be contentious. I know it will stir the pot, that the pro-blue brigade will probably vilify me for my stance.

Right, I know this is going to be contentious. I know it will stir the pot, that the pro-blue brigade will probably vilify me for my stance.

But I’m going to say the words anyway.

I have no problems any more with Cardiff City playing in red. None whatsoever,

There, that’s out in the open, although, let me emphasise right from the outset, that this is a personal view and most certainly not a formal stance from the Echo sports desk.

But please, before you automatically holler in my direction, at least permit me to put forward my arguments.

It was back at the beginning of June when the Bluebirds board of directors took this newspaper into their confidence about the impending and highly controversial change of colour.

I won’t break any secrets about the detail of what was said behind closed doors. Suffice to say that the Malaysians, clearly concerned about the inevitable fans’ backlash, asked for what they dubbed ‘fair reporting.’

A stark choice was presented. Stick with blue and the club’s very future was clearly going to be at stake. Knowing the debts which had been accumulated, that was a doomsday scenario for Welsh sport given Cardiff City FC are as big a brand name as you will get here.

Change to red, on the other hand, and Vincent Tan promised huge sums of money in the transfer market with which Malky Mackay could build a promotion-winning team.

Can anyone deny Tan has been good to his word on that? Right up to the point this week where Fraizer Campbell was brought in to deliver the goals which should pretty much guarantee the 10-points-clear Bluebirds finally reaching Premier League dreamland this spring.

No-one needs to tell me about the forceful views Tan’s decision has evoked. The MediaWales sports desk telephone, e-mails and WalesOnline forums have been inundated with those wishing to express an opinion.

And this, it appears, on one man’s whim to change to a supposedly lucky kit, which, of course, would also be more marketable in the huge Asian market where red is viewed as a strong and vibrant colour.

The Bluebirds’ heritage was blue. That was being ripped apart in one fell swoop by an outsider who didn’t fully comprehend what the colour meant to some City fans.

But, like a handful of hardy others, I’ve been there through the bad old days of Hartlepool United, Lincoln City, Torquay and Rochdale in front of gates of just over 3,000 at Ninian Park.

For me, the Premier League dream for the Bluebirds over-rides anything else right at this moment in time.

And I agree with Neil Warnock on this. If Tan demanded Cardiff City FC played in yellow shirts with purple polka dots, but in return he would provide the funds to ensure the Bluebirds met Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, then I would accept it.

Of course, probably like every single one of you, I would prefer to see Cardiff City paying in blue.

But, for the time being, that is not part of the deal. And the more the season has gone on, the more I have become accustomed to, and accepting of, the new red kit.

I don’t just speak as a member of the Press who gets so-called free tickets to games, either.

Yes, I attend some matches in a professional capacity, but I also buy four season tickets every year. Which, I guess, entitles me to my viewpoint as much as any other Cardiff City follower.

For the first few matches of the 2012-13 campaign, I had to do a double take as the team wearing blue broke to the ‘wrong’ end of the ground after the customary hand-shakes.

Yes, it took a few seconds to realise the Bluebirds were actually wearing red and heading in their traditional direction towards the Canton Stand.

Despite the enormous publicity the issue had generated, it took two months of believing what you were actually seeing with your own eyes, Somewhat surreal, really.

But these days it is second nature to see Cardiff in red and I’m not the slightest bit uncomfortable with it, any more.

Not while success is being achieved, anyway.

For me, the biggest marketing exercise possible for the red strip came in that FA Cup horror show at Macclesfield earlier this month.

That, we should quickly be reminded, was where Cardiff City had come from just a few years earlier. The bad old days, if you like.

The golden rainbow direction in which they are heading is one which sees Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez, Juan Mata. Jack Wilshere, Sergio Aguero and Gareth Bale on the horizon.

I don’t know about you, but I’m licking my lips at the prospect of seeing how big Ben Turner, Peter Whittingham and Andrew Taylor, the most improved player at the club, fare against that little lot.

Every team in the Championship has played in the Premier League bar Brighton, Millwall, Huddersfield, Bristol City, Peterborough ... and Cardiff.

Damn it, even Barnsley have been there.

While arch-rivals Swansea quite rightly earn plaudits for their splendid top-flight exploits, Wales’ capital city and biggest club are still only dreaming.

Well, if a change of kit is the driver of that being fulfilled, then count me in as a backer of it.

That doesn’t mean I don’t totally respect and fully understand the views of those who are still staunchly opposed.

A few have voted with their feet and refused to attend even a single match this season, including friends of mine, who have been there through the days of Barnet, Grimsby and Mansfield.

Strangely, Vincent Tan’s change of colour has finally cured them of a Cardiff City addiction which stretches back decades.

But while I would never be presumptuous enough to try to advise those individuals what to do, I can tell them they are missing out on something very magical down at Cardiff City Stadium right at this moment in time.

When the red kit was first announced, the Bluebirds were mocked by national newspaper and broadcast outlets. But those of us with our ear to the ground here in south Wales knew there was a bigger picture.

The Premier League or a freefall down the divisions, one from which the Bluebirds may never have recovered. An idle threat? Possibly. But if so, it wasn’t a risk worth taking, in my eyes.

One day, probably when the next regime come in, the Bluebirds will return to playing in blue. For the time being, like thousands of others I’m enjoying being swept forward on the magic carpet ride of red.

They say Tan has wiped away Cardiff City’s heritage, but aren’t we witnessing the writing of a wonderful new chapter in the club’s history?

Bluebirds season passes for the Premier League are about to become the hottest ticket in Wales.